UAE | Crime

Fireman convicted of consensual sex

Dubai: An fireman who was accused of raping a woman has been given a one-year suspended sentence for consensual sex.

The 27-year-old Moroccan woman had claimed to Dubai police that the 25-year-old Emirati man had raped her in his car near Al Fuqaa.

After further investigation, prosecutors accused the Moroccan woman, who works for an airline’s ground staff, and the fireman of having consensual sex.

The Dubai Misdemeanour Court convicted the pair of having consensual sex and suspended their imprisonment because they got married.

“The court has suspended the imprisonment for a period of three years, during which the crime should not be repeated. However the woman will be deported,” according to the primary judgment.

Police caught the Emirati after he threw the woman out of his car and sped off completely naked when he heard police sirens approaching his vehicle.

Records said police patrols stopped chasing the man’s car as he reached dangerous speeds of more than 200km/hr.

“He was completely naked when he tossed my client out of his car… he whizzed away speedily when he heard police sirens. He said they agreed to have sex for Dh3,000. My client was found with her clothes ripped off and had bruises all over her body. It’s a kidnap and rape case… they didn’t have consensual sex,” the woman’s lawyer told the court.

The woman denied having consensual sex with the Emirati in court. Her lawyer told the court that the woman’s friend was married to an Emirati and she introduced her to the suspect to discuss the possibility of marriage.

“My client met the suspect to discuss their wedding plans. It’s very strange how prosecutors and the police disregarded my client’s claim that she dialled 999 to report that she was raped. There is a 10 minute recording of her SOS call. The court could check the phone records of Dubai Police’s Operation Room,” argued the lawyer.

The incident happened when the suspect, according to the lawyer, drove to a remote area and suddenly removed his clothes and asked to have sex with the woman.

The advocate countered the fireman’s claims that he agreed to have paid sex with his client when he argued: “She gets a Dh10,000 salary. Supposedly the man’s claim was right, how could someone, who has not yet paid an alimony of Dh1,000 for his marriage, agree to have sex for Dh3,000? His claims were unfounded and he gave an inconsistent statement.

“Police found my client crying, her clothes were ripped off and she was injured. When law enforcement officers advised my client to marry the suspect to avoid being deported, she did so reluctantly. How could someone agree to have sex for Dh3,000 when he cannot afford Dh1,000?”